Touch Rugby moving into Stage 6: National this Monday

England Touch has confirmed that Touch Rugby will be moving into Stage 6: National in the Association’s Return to Play protocols this Monday, May 17th.

Not only will the ETA be able to take its planning for the National Touch Series into the next stage – CLICK HERE for details for how your club can enter the 2021 Development NTS – but the High Performance training camps will be able to resume with in-person training.

The first of these will be in Oxford next weekend (May 22-23), with players allowed to travel from across the country to train for the first time in over a year.

At the same time clubs will be able to arrange fixtures and tournaments with their peers from elsewhere in England, and in-person development courses can now be held in person with attendees coming from nationwide.

However, clubs, teams and individuals alike need to continue to follow the government’s latest advice regarding travel, which currently include:

• Car sharing is possible, albeit with reduced numbers in cars, face coverings and good ventilation
• Wearing a face covering on public transport, unless you are exempt
• Staying two metres away from anyone who is not in your household/support bubble when travelling, or one metre if you are wearing a face covering

From May 17th clubhouses and other venues will be able to open for inside hospitality for tables of up to six people adhering to the above social distancing, and social distancing should still be adhered to outside, when not on the playing field (especially for team photos!).

For the latest UK government guidance on what you can and cannot do head to www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

CLICK HERE for the latest sport-specific guidance from Sport England.

Clubs can download all their risk assessment guidance and other relevant documentation from www.englandtouch.org.uk/coronavirus